What Is Palm Sunday?

Palm Sunday is the holiday we celebrate the Sunday before Easter.

It is the day we remember and celebrate when Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

 

Here’s what happened:

When Jesus and His disciples were traveling toward Jerusalem they stopped at a nearby village.

Jesus sent two of His disciples to the village to locate and bring back a young donkey that was tied up but had never been ridden.

He told them if anyone asked what they were doing to tell them it was for Him and that He would send it back shortly. (Mark 11:1-3 NIV)

When they went into the village they found the donkey there, just like He’d said.

Someone did ask about it and the disciples did tell them why they were taking it. They were then allowed to leave with it.

The disciples brought the donkey to Jesus and laid their cloaks on it for Him to sit on.

 

Jesus rode the donkey into the town of Jerusalem.

As He did so, the crowds that were with Jesus when He arrived as well as many of the people in the town laid their cloaks or palm and tree branches down on the ground in front of Him.

The crowd was happy and excited to see Jesus so they cried out,  “Hosanna!” which means save us, or He saves; it is a cry of adoration, joy, and praise.

 

They also cried out, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9 NIV)

This is important because it means they realized who Jesus was and were declaring Him to be sent from God.

 

The crowd also shouted, “Blessed is the King of Israel!” (John 12:13 NIV)

When the crowd called Him the King of Israel they were recognizing Him as King of the Jews.

 

The Jewish people had known for many generations that the day would come when a Messiah (promised deliverer) would arrive.

The ones who were calling out were the ones who had realized that Jesus was (and is) the Messiah that was spoken of and prophesied about in Scripture since the Garden of Eden.

 

When Jesus rode in on the donkey He was declaring Himself King and also confirming to the people that what they believed about Him was true.

 

Jesus didn’t declare Himself king the way most kings did.

It was common for kings to ride into towns to declare their authority. They did it on horses with many soldiers as a show of force. Their hope was to intimidate the townspeople so that they would submit to the king’s authority.

 

When Jesus rode into town He did it on a donkey, which was widely seen as a symbol of peace (while horses were seen as animals of war).

 

Unlike earthly kings who rule by might and force, Jesus was very humble in His statement. He wasn’t forcing people to agree and believe – He was stating the fact and allowing them to decide for themselves.

 

Jesus was also fulfilling prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 which said:

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

    Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

    righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

    on a colt, the foal of a donkey

 

By entering Jerusalem on the donkey He was showing He was the one talked about in the Scripture and that He was, in fact, the long-awaited King.

 

Because many had heard about Jesus and His miracles, large crowds went out to see Him as He traveled through the town.

 

This upset the Pharisees.

The Pharisees felt that Jesus being so popular was a threat to them and their power.

They said to each other, “see, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!” (John 12:18-19 NIV)

 

They even went so far as to tell Jesus to quiet His followers and to make them stop praising Him.

Jesus replied by telling them that if the people stopped praising Him then the rocks would cry out in praise. (Luke 19:39-40 NIV)

 

Jesus’ statement about the rocks is in reference to numerous passages in Scripture that say that Creation praises God.

This was another reference to Him being Messiah, the King.

 

Jesus’ humble entry into Jerusalem that day was an important event.

It confirmed He was the King of Israel, the long-awaited Messiah.

It also caused the Pharisees and many Jews to turn against Him, leading to a painful time of suffering for Jesus before He became the payment for our sin and the One who would reconcile us to God.

 

Soon after His arrival into Jerusalem, the Pharisees would plot against Jesus in an effort to stop Him.

They would plot with Judas Iscariot to betray Him.

 

By the end of the week Jesus would be crucified on a cross on the day we now call Easter or Resurrection Sunday.

 

 

 

To read the complete story, please visit Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-16, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19 .

To read about Palm Sunday from the point of view of Jesus, please read my post, A Bittersweet Entry

To learn more about Holy Week, read my post, What is Holy Week?

 

To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.